2023 books—and life in 2023
Jan. 10th, 2024 03:44 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pjthompsonI didn't come anywhere near to reading 2023 books. In fact, I finished far fewer than I usually do in a year. My mind was quite restless and there were physical ailments to deal with. And depression. I did quite a bit of picking up and putting down, then picking up again, then putting down again. I read only one romance this year. It was unsatisfying and I just wasn't in the mood for romance. I read a lot of noir: American noir, Scottish (tartan) noir, Swedish noir, Icelandic noir. You get the picture. Oddly enough, my comfort reads. Which means that most of the books I finished were novels. I have always read nonfiction more slowly, in fits and starts. I'm actually quite far along on some of the unfinished books. I just didn't get them across the finish line in 2023. Others I didn't finish because of eye issues: the type was too small or too light. Really need those new glasses! I hope to take care of that soon. And no, Kindle and other digital is not the answer. That brings on it's own form of eye strain, not to mention neck and shoulder strain. Plus, I just don't like reading digitally. There's something so wonderfully sensual about holding a paper book in my hands.
My creativity has also been quite hit and miss. But I did finally manage to write The End on the zero draft of my novel Carmina, which I struggled for a long time to finish. It's a complete mess and will need heavy revision and it's possibly the worst thing I've ever written. (Then again, I think that at the completion of every project.) But none of that matters. The novel will be going into a metaphorical trunk for a while until I can gain some perspective. In the meantime, I will work on something else (hopefully). I haven't decided what yet but the good news is that I have a number of projects to choose from.
One of the books I didn't finish was Some Kind of Fairy Tale by Graham Joyce. I absolutely loved it but about halfway through I had to stop. You see, I was attempting to write my own fairy novel (see above) and Joyce's wonderful book was eating my head. I needed to put it down and concentrate on my own vision of things fairy. I look forward to getting back to Joyce in 2024. This was also somewhat the case with Sylvia Townsend Warner's Kingdoms of Elfin.
The physical ailments remain a challenge but if they ease up a bit—or if I come to a place of acceptance and adaptation—I can still get things done. The creativity certainly helps with my neurosis and depression—one vital reason to keep pursuing it. I want to self-publish at some point (I've totally given up on traditional publishing), but I've had to kick that particular can down the road for a while for various reasons. Still, I live in hope.
And so, on to my unimpressive reading list.
Books Finished in 2023
1. An Echo in the Blood by Diana Gabaldon (reread)
2. Let It Bleed by Ian Rankin
3. Other Birds by Sarah Addison Allen
4. The Wailing Wind by Tony Hillerman
5. Encore In Death by JD Robb
6. The Night Singer by Johanna Mo
7. 21st Century Fairy by Morgan Daimler
8. The Shadow Lily by Johanna Mo
9. Midnight Duet by Jen Comfort
10. The Living Stones by Ithell Colquhoun
11. Palace of the Drowned by Christine Mangan
12. The Sunken Land Begins to Rise Again by M. John Harrison
13. A Tempest At Sea by Sherry Thomas
14. Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone by Diana Gabsldon (reread)
15. Execution Dock by Anne Perry
16. Black and Blue by Ian Rankin
17. The Hanging Garden by Ian Rankin
18. Honeytrap by Astor Glenn Grey
19. The Black Echo by Michael Connelly
20. Life After Life by Kate Atkinson
21. Sinister Pig by Tony Hillerman
22. The Diviner's Tale by Bradford Morrow
23. Payback In Death by JD Robb
24. Case Histories by Kate Atkinson
25. The Creak On the Stairs by Ava Bjorg Aegisdottir
26. Dead Souls by Ian Rankin
27. Unlikely Animals by Annie Hartnett
28. Faces Under Water by Tanith Lee (reread)
29. Set in Darkness by Ian Rankin
Books Started or Continued in 2023
My creativity has also been quite hit and miss. But I did finally manage to write The End on the zero draft of my novel Carmina, which I struggled for a long time to finish. It's a complete mess and will need heavy revision and it's possibly the worst thing I've ever written. (Then again, I think that at the completion of every project.) But none of that matters. The novel will be going into a metaphorical trunk for a while until I can gain some perspective. In the meantime, I will work on something else (hopefully). I haven't decided what yet but the good news is that I have a number of projects to choose from.
One of the books I didn't finish was Some Kind of Fairy Tale by Graham Joyce. I absolutely loved it but about halfway through I had to stop. You see, I was attempting to write my own fairy novel (see above) and Joyce's wonderful book was eating my head. I needed to put it down and concentrate on my own vision of things fairy. I look forward to getting back to Joyce in 2024. This was also somewhat the case with Sylvia Townsend Warner's Kingdoms of Elfin.
The physical ailments remain a challenge but if they ease up a bit—or if I come to a place of acceptance and adaptation—I can still get things done. The creativity certainly helps with my neurosis and depression—one vital reason to keep pursuing it. I want to self-publish at some point (I've totally given up on traditional publishing), but I've had to kick that particular can down the road for a while for various reasons. Still, I live in hope.
And so, on to my unimpressive reading list.
Books Finished in 2023
1. An Echo in the Blood by Diana Gabaldon (reread)
2. Let It Bleed by Ian Rankin
3. Other Birds by Sarah Addison Allen
4. The Wailing Wind by Tony Hillerman
5. Encore In Death by JD Robb
6. The Night Singer by Johanna Mo
7. 21st Century Fairy by Morgan Daimler
8. The Shadow Lily by Johanna Mo
9. Midnight Duet by Jen Comfort
10. The Living Stones by Ithell Colquhoun
11. Palace of the Drowned by Christine Mangan
12. The Sunken Land Begins to Rise Again by M. John Harrison
13. A Tempest At Sea by Sherry Thomas
14. Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone by Diana Gabsldon (reread)
15. Execution Dock by Anne Perry
16. Black and Blue by Ian Rankin
17. The Hanging Garden by Ian Rankin
18. Honeytrap by Astor Glenn Grey
19. The Black Echo by Michael Connelly
20. Life After Life by Kate Atkinson
21. Sinister Pig by Tony Hillerman
22. The Diviner's Tale by Bradford Morrow
23. Payback In Death by JD Robb
24. Case Histories by Kate Atkinson
25. The Creak On the Stairs by Ava Bjorg Aegisdottir
26. Dead Souls by Ian Rankin
27. Unlikely Animals by Annie Hartnett
28. Faces Under Water by Tanith Lee (reread)
29. Set in Darkness by Ian Rankin
Books Started or Continued in 2023
1. Spirits of Blood, Spirits of Breath by Barbara Alice Mann
2. The Magician by W. Somerset Maugham (restart) (abandoned) - the story was interesting but I kept boincing off the early 20th century prose so I gave up on it
3. Before the Great Spirit by Julian Rice
4. Committee of Sleep by Deidre Barrett
5. The Humans by Matt Haig
6. Hokuloa Road by Elizabeth Hand (restart)
7. The Drifter by Nick Petrie
8. Half American: The Herioic Story of African Americans Fighting World War II at Home and Abroad by Matthew F. Delmont
9. Hekate In Ancient Greek Religion by Robert Von Rudolph
10. The Vengeful Djinn by Rosemary Guiley and Philip Imbrogno
11. Sword at Sunset by Rosemary Sutcliff (reread)
12. Some Kind of Fairy Tale by Graham Joyce
13. The Eighth Detective by Alex Pavesi
14. The History of Love by Nicole Krauss
15. Mischief Acts by Zoe Gilbert
16. Time Loops by Eric Wargo
17. Magical Folk ed. by Simon Young and Ceri Houlbrook (essays)
18. Darkness Walks by Jason Offutt
19. Forbidden Science #1 by Jacques Vallee
20. Hesiod tr. by Richard Latimore
21. Kingdoms of Elfin by Sylvia Townsend Warner - I read many of these stories years ago when they were published
in The New Yorker and am slowly getting reacquainted with them
in The New Yorker and am slowly getting reacquainted with them
22. One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson (finished this last night)
23. The Lost King by Philippa Langley and Michael Jones
24. The Eighth Tower by John A. Keel
25. Devoted to Death by R. Andrew Chesnut
26. The Bookseller of Inverness by S.G. MacLean (finished this a couple of nights ago)
no subject
Date: 2024-01-11 09:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-01-11 10:06 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-01-12 07:18 am (UTC)I wish my Read list looked anywhere near as impressive as yours. ;)
Bon Courage dealing with all the ups and downs of health issues. 'Tis not an easy thing especially when those issues pile up. *hugs*
no subject
Date: 2024-01-12 08:06 am (UTC)